Colonial Theatre

40 West Broad Street,

Columbus,
OH43228

Dear Lost Memory, thanks for the awesome photo of the Colonial Theatre! It looked like it was really cool! Here’s the updated link in case someone wants to see it:

http://goo.gl/T1f3Q

According to the TheatreOrgans.com Searchable Online Database of original installations, the Colonial Theatre had a Wurlitzer style V theatre pipe organ, Opus 101, installed on September 23, 1916.

The style V was a piano-console instrument with two manuals and eight ranks, plus two tuned percussions (cathedral chimes, and then the piano).

It did not feature any other tuned or untuned percussions, so possibly the pianist/organist who played the instrument worked as a duo with a live drummer/sound effects man (who was quite common in theatres during this period anyway) to provide appropriate noises for the pictures.
This is my theory, anyway!

Does anyone know what became of Wurlitzer theatre pipe organ Opus 101? Its fate or current status is listed as “unknown” in the database.

The October 13, 1917, issue of The American Contractor said that the Colonial Theatre on Broad Street in Columbus was being remodeled, and that the work was about 1/3 complete. The architect for the project was Fred W. Elliot.